Former Red Wings Player Shawn Burr Dies At Age 47

DETROIT (CBSDETROIT) – Shawn Burr, former winger for the Detroit Red Wings has died. He was 47.

It is reported that Burr died in a metro Detroit hospital after a fall in his home over the weekend.

Burr, from Sarnia, Canada played professional hockey in the NHL for the 16 seasons. He played with the Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lighting and the San Jose Sharks during that time.

97.1 The Ticket’s Pat Caputo knew Burr professionally for years saying, “Although he didn’t play on a Stanley Cup championship team, Burr, the organization’s first-round draft in pick 1984, was a big part of the Red Wings’ turnaround during the late 1980s and early 1990s.”

Nicknamed “Skippy,” Caputo said Burr was a genuinely good person, who was not only loved by Red Wings’ fans, but respected in every sense.

WWJ spoke with Ken Kal, play-by-play announcer with the Detroit Red Wings: “You know he did a lot for charity, he had a golf outing each and every year – raised a lot of money for charity. But he was really proud to be a member of the Red Wings Alumni Association so that’s what I remember most about Shawn.”

During his career he scored 181 goals and tallied 259 assists. His most memorable season with the Red Wings was 1989-90 when he scored 56 points in 76 games.

In 2007, he was elected president of the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association and was active in raising money for children’s charities in Michigan.

In 2011, Burr was diagnosed with leukemia and had undergone treatment for the disease. The exact cause of death is not known at this time.